Inconsistent, but really good - 82%

Trivium is most definitely a band that likes to change it's sound every album. While I liked Ember To Inferno and especially Ascendancy, I wasn't really happy with the change of sound on The Crusade. Where did the harsh vocals go? Why is Heafy trying to copy Hetfield? Along came Shogun, said to blend the style of Ascendancy and The Crusade. And indeed, harsh vocals were back, but they didn't feel as real as on Ascendancy, neither did I like the overall style still.

Now, a couple of years later, Trivium releases In Waves. At first I had a hard time getting into this album, mainly due to the lack of inconsistency on this album. There were heavy songs, like Dusk Dismantled and Chaos Reigns, that reminded me of old day Trivium, but there were really soft songs on there too. It seemed to jump from one high to another, without making sense.

But after a while I managed to get into it and really appreciate the huge difference between all those songs. I strongly advice to listen to the Special Edition of the album, because otherwise you'll miss out on some really good songs. I'm speaking of Drowning In Slow Motion and A Grey So Dark, both - in my eyes - really good songs. Also, you'll miss out on a remastered version of Shattering The Skies Above and the acceptable Sepultura cover Slave New World.

The regular album though of course has enough great songs to keep things interesting. While writing this review, I was trying to make a list of 'best songs' of this album, but that was just plain impossible. This is really because of the inconsistency I mentioned before. Every song is so different and every song will have it's haters and lovers, it's good points and it's bad ones.

For example, In Waves kicks of with a breakdown, that serves as chorus to the song, and then evolves into a softer song. At first, it really doesn't seem to make sense, but it works. Then, next song Inception Of The End really sounds like Ascendancy-era Trivium, with Dusk Dismantled continuing this path, but even more furious. Next on, Watch The World Burn, one of the most catchy songs on the album, that completely caught me off guard after those two heavier songs.

This album will be love it or hate. I personally love most of it, but if I would have reviewed this album a couple of weeks ago, I would've hardly been able to give it a 65% instead of the present 82%.